New Maslow in Texas

I received my Kit on Saturday and started assembly on Monday. Finished her up today after running into a few snags but now she’s purring like an automated kitten. Here she is attached to her temp sled with custom z-axis while cutting out her permanent base.

https://youtu.be/37MNvYUJQpc

I opted for a metal top rail mentioned in another forum which works wonderfully.
My Base design was based off of the standard design but I added some sheet storage in the back and mounted it on locking wheels.

Issues:

  1. Heat sinks kept falling off. Resolution-ordered some thermal glue recommended in another forum. Works well.
  2. My Bosch router base didn’t have the z-travel needed and kept binding up. Resolution- I threw together a z axis alternative with some drawer slides and some 3/8” threaded rod. Works well but will need some modification down the line.
  3. I have plenty of CAD experience but zero CAM or gcode experience. A walk through with step by step instructions for us Noobs would be perfect to situate in the assembly guide as “here’s your first project” paint by numbers sort of thing. Resolution-I found a video by Hannah where she exported a book holder to svg then took it to MakerCAM to gcode.

That’s it! Looking forward to making things!

Timm

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@tmd Welcome to our group.

Workflow is the most challenging aspect of CNC from my view. Very few have a single workflow from beginning to end. Most end up finding a group of tools that they move between depending on the project. As understanding grows, skills shift and better tools are used. I call CNC “The Art of making chips.”

Thank you

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It’s a fun art form. :sunglasses:

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On point 2, i’m really interested in some pictures.

And point 3 would be a little difficult to do. Cam is very simlar across all cnc machines, the differences are in the software you use, and it doesn’t really make sense to make a make a maslow specific tutorial for every software package.

If you find a good one, please post the link in the software section.

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The cut looks smooth but i noticed the jumps of the v-bearings on the ring. The pint on the ring is very bumpy with craters. Some fine sanding will get rid of those jumps.

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is this the set up you had that kept binding?

@Justin_Case That’s the setup that kept binding.

@Dag83 I’ll post some pics of my custom z in a day or two. You can see it (sort of) in the video.

@Gero where should I be sanding?

Everything the v-bearings ride on.
The inner side of the ring / the thin part inside and perhaps also the inner part top and down of the flat side.

you should also loosen the nut on the clamp so that you can run with the clamp closed (which will result in a much more consistent fit between the sled and the base.

@Dag83 here are some pics of the z axis made with drawer slides.

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Now that’s thinking outside the box. How did you eliminate all the slop and play that drawer slides have?

@Jayster I measured how tight the drawer would be with them assembled and not able to roll (too tight). From that measurement I added about 3/16”. Once I added the threaded rod, any play went away.

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If I understand it right it’s the inside box that moves up and down right? Is there a reason the slides are so long and the z-axis motor is so high? When the inner box hits the top of your outter box then you stop which looks like only 1" (not saying you need more).

I’m also confused about the jam nuts I’m seeing. How does that not prevent the rod from spinning or are they acting as a stop?

@Jayster yes, the interior box slides up and down. I have about 2.5” total travel as I didn’t see a need for more right now.
I have jam nuts at the top and bottom of the rig to prevent rod movement. They are positioned with enough distance from the side so the rod can spin freely. The three washers are overkill and lubricated with silicone just in case they get tight but I have not run into an issue.
The height of the rod was the height I had in a spare rod lying around and was anxious to get it on. Really it could be trimmed. As well as the drawer slides. I trimmed the inside ones but not the outside ones mostly because I wanted to fire it up but also realized that the extra length of the slides acted as a shield for my motor connection.

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Ah, that makes much more sense. Great build and smart use of “common” materials. You happy with the performance while cutting/plunging?

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So far so good. Except for the speed. That rod is 16 TPI which makes for some slow plunges. I have some old RC gears lying around that I might use to speed it up. But need to get done with my current project.

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What part of Texas are you in? I’m from Lubbock, and would really like to apprentice under someone. I am new to the CNC world.

I’m in the DFW area

see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPkwIG7og44 for a good discussion on this

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